Watchcase



' Feb. 1, 1938. J. DINHOFER 2,107,176

WATCHCASE Filed April 15, l9 37 Patented Feb. 1, 1933 UNITED STATESPATENT OFFICE 3 Claims.

This invention relates to an improvement in watch cases and has for itsobject the provision of a watch case of such a construction that itsvarious surfaces can be highly polished by means of a lapping wheelwhereby an extremely high lustre to such polished surfaces can besecured. As will be understood by those skilled in the art, it isextremely difiicult if not wholly impossible, to use a lapping wheel forpolishing the surfaces of a watch case or similar article when thesurfaces to be polished are provided with angular corners or smallrecesses which cannot be held against the surface of the lapping wheel.Accordingly, my invention contemplates the provision of a watch casecomposed of several united elements which can be made and polishedseparately, and then united after the polishing operation to form thewatch case and resultantly produce a case whose surfaces will be ofextreme high polish and finish.

A further object of the invention is to provide a watch case having abezel made independently of the body of the case and removable therefromto permit bezels having difierently shaped crystal-receiving openings tobe substituted for one another whenever desired.

These and other objects are attained by the invention, a more particulardescription of which will hereinafter appear and be pointed out in theclaims appended hereto.

In the accompanying drawing, Fig. l is a plan view of a watch case madein accordance with the invention; Fig. 2 is a similar plan view show inga bezel having a differently shaped crystalreceiving aperture from thatshown in Fig. 1; Fig. 3 is a sectional view on the line 3-3 of Fig. 1,looking in the direction of the arrows; Fig. 4 is a sectional view onthe line 4-4 looking in the direction of the arrows; and Fig. 5 is asectional view through a modified structure.

In the drawing, 6 indicates the upper half portion of a watch case ofthe wrist-watch variety. The lower half of the case is of conventionalform and is accordingly omitted from the drawing. Said case portion isprovided with the usual projecting lugs l for the reception of the crossbar to,which the wrist band is attached. The body portion 6 is formedwith an inwardly projecting flange 8 and a vertical wall portion 9. Saidportion 6 thus forms a frame and defines a central aperture l0 intowhich the bezel l I is fitted. The bezel H is shown as being in the formof a rectangular frame which fits snugly in the aperture Ill and isprovided with the central opening l2 surrounded by the crystal-receivingseat or groove I3. The bezel l l is formed with a circumferentiallaterally extending flange I I. which is located in back-of the flange 8on the case portion when the bezel is placed in position.

In constructing the watch case, the bezel ll 5 is made separately fromthe case portion 6 and thus the outer face of the bezel II can be easilyheld against the lapping wheel and given an extremely high lustre orpolish by the lapping operation. Similarly, the outer face portion ofthe inwardly extending flange 8 of the case member 6 as well as theouter faces of wall 9 can also be easily polished by the operation ofthe lapping wheel.

When the parts 6 and I l of the case have thus been highly polished,they are assembled by having the bezel I! inserted through the opening[0 in the case member 6. The bezel ll may retain itself in position by atight frictional fit aided by the natural resiliency of the metal, or itmay be soldered in place at the back of the case member 6. When in itsfinal position, it may project slightly above the face of the flange 8as shown in Fig. 3 with the lateral flange I4 on the bezel ii seatedagainst the inner face of flange 8 as clearly shown in Figs. 3 and 4. Ifdesired, the vertical wall 9 of the case member 6 may be undercut asshown at E5 in Fig. 5, to thereby provide a snap fit between it and theedge of the lateral flange M of the bezel.

In the event that the bezel is arranged to be removable from the case topermit a new one to be substituted when desired, it will be obvious thata new bezel having, for example, a differently shaped crystal-receivingaperture, an example of which is shown at I6 in Fig. 2 may besubstituted. In this manner, the entire aspect of a watch may be changedby a quick substitution of a new bezel. Furthermore, by the manufactureof the parts of the watch-case separate from one another, the operationof securing an extremely high polish or lustre on the faces of theseparts by means of a lapping wheel can be had, and the finished watchwill accordingly have an extremely high lustre on its exposed facesheretofore only obtainable by tedious hand polishing.

What I claim is:

1. In a watch case, the combination of a watchcase body portion formedwith an aperture, a bezel inserted. in said aperture from the back ofthe body portion and having a portion fitting within said aperture and alateral flange engaging behind the portion of the case surrounding theaperture and limiting the extent of projection of the bezel through theaperture.

2. In a watch case, a front body portion having a side wall and a topflange, an aperture defined by the top flange, a bezel frictionally heldin said aperture, said bezel having a lateral flange friotionallyengaging the side wall at the back of the aperture to hold the bezel inposition.

3. In a watch case, a front body portion, having a side wall and a topflange, the top flange defining an aperture, a bezel fitting saidaperture and having a lateral flange abutting against the back of thebody portion about the aperture, said flange engaging the side wall onthe body portion with a snap fit to hold the bezel in position.

JULIUS DINHOFER.

